Myth and Fable
by Warhaler
Summary: A darker world where same heroes have a different origin. Where titles hold power and not just hunters strive to protect the population. And the grim are not the only monsters that should be feared. Legends of old will once again walk the earth, will anyone be able to stop the forgotten gods?
1. Chapter 1

This idea has been nagging my mind and I figured why not write it, it probably won't turn into anything interesting anyway.

A less technological world but still pretty advanced somewhere between Bloodborne and Dark Souls. I hope the intro covers everything needed to introduce readers to the lore.

If anyone actually bothers to leave a review, please don't be too harsh with me.

* * *

 **INTRO**

Dust. Over the countless millenia of our history only two things remain constant. The void beasts and dust.

There are many different types of dust but they are usually separated into two categories.

Spectrum and Shade, they are similar in effect but differ vastly the deeper you analyse them.

Shade shares similarity with ores and ceramics in physical properties and therefore it is preffered in the construction of tools and forging of weapons, creating a fascinating balance between hardness, elasticity and weight. Carrying the unique properties of the type used combined with the master craftsmanship of its maker. A one of kind item reserved solely for the best of best.

Spectrum dust, in theory, could be used in weapon making, however to produce something like a sword or shield would require shaving off exes material.

Before we delve deeper there some things I need to explain regarding the two categories. Let's start with colour: Depending from which point you look at it white and black can be considered as colours. A painter would say that black is a colour because it can be made by mixing every shade together, but white would be an empty canvas because it can only be made by erasing everything else.

If you ask a physics teacher however he would say that light is a colour since it's the combination of every specter of light. Black is the absence of light and therefore it isn't a colour. To simplify things spectrum white and black dust are dubbed light and dark to avoid confusion.

Spectrum white has similar properties to shade black and vice versa.

Another difference, while shades tend to be related to the more weighted aspects of the world, example, blue shade dust creates ice.

Spectrum dust tends to posses less solid forms, example spectrum blue dust conjures lighting.

That should about cover the basics.

Now the reason spectrum dust, or sp for short, isn't used in craft working is because of its more crystal structure. Incredible hardness, but brittle. Instead it's more commonly used by the espers as a catalyst for their spells. Mounted on the tops of their staves they unleash tremendous force of soul infused elemental might upon the enemy, they also emit light, making them valuable accessories for the rich and welthy.

Bla bla bla… BLA!

"Miss Rose! Are you listening? "

"Wh-wha? Yes! Handcrafts and painting."

Ruby Rose, age fifteen, silver eyes, red and black goth themed combat skirt and youngest graduate of Heaven academy for hunters had just fallen asleep during her parting lecture. Because of the fact that she was accepted into Beacon academy two years earlier than anyone else she was forced to listen to her teachers lectures every day for three weeks in order to catch up with the other graduates.

"Miss Rose, this is a serious matter. We have three more lectures and only two days to cover them. If you don't learn this you are not going to be able to keep up with your classmates. "

Most of the lessons would usually be covered over a generous time frame of three hundred days, give or take national holidays and unforeseen circumstances. But now in order to keep the young girl at the minimum level thousands of text book pages had to be compressed and crammed into her head.

"I know, I know, but there's just soo much stuff: history of dust, cultural relations, faunus revolutions, a bunch of other historical events, the holy blades-"

"I was led to believe that you loved that subject. "

"I dooo. It's my favourite. "

"Alright then. Let's have a little quizz. If you fare properly I will a knowledge you as capable enough to take care of yourself in your new school. Is that to your liking? " As if waiting for the opportunity Ruby, renewed with vigor, accepted the challenge.

"Bring it on teach!" Giggling with self confidence the young girl swore to herself to pass this trial.

"Well let's start with your favorite. Give me a brief summary of the holy weapons and their history. "

"Easy! The holy weapons are named such because in lore they have been bathed in the blood of gods. The most well known of them is Excalibur, which, along with the scabbard Avalon, were forged from the pieces of Caliburne, also known as Colabrane which was shattered when king Arthur broke the vows of chivalry. When the scabbard and the sword are together the true power of Colabrane is recreated. "

"Name the gods whose blood bathed the blades and their creator. "

"For both weapons it the blood came from the dragon god Mo'Ra'Ell, who died at the hands of the king when wielding Excalibur, although it's said that the wound that killed him was caused by Caliburne in their previous battle. Caliburne was said to never have been forged, but appeared naturally in nature, it's shape and function as a sword was a complete coincidence. Excalibur however was made when the pieces of its predecessor feel within a lake of fire, and Avalon was created when the rest of the pieces were hammered into the still read hot Excalibur. The scabbard was lost after being stolen, but the blade still remains as a heirloom in the Mystrilian royal family. " A complete and brief summary of the two swords history earned her full marks

"Perfect. Continue Miss Rose."

"Oh Oh next is Crcea Mors. The sword is older than our history, but it has been mentioned in almost every major literature both of our nation and the ones before it, as far as we know it's referenced in epics as the indestructible blade. In fact that's the sword which apparently broke Caliburne in the first place as writt-."

"That's enough miss Rose, I'm sure if I asked you you'd recite the poem itself. " The idea was correct, as Ruby took a deep breath and began speaking.

"And ye cometh the king D'Mistral full o' pride and arrogance and denser than a rock. Entered he in house o' Arc and prased 'is blade as if et were 'is cock."

"Oh my god it's the uncensored version too. " The poets of old were famous for their mastery of vulgarity, it was the only reason any of the children actually red their works willingly. But Ruby chose not to answer and instead continued to indulge in her poetic spree.

"Yelled did he as if it were a tavern 'Arc before cometh I shall put you to the test. An bring yer blade o' fables, and see which one's is the best!'

Arc arrive the jeweled of named, the blade of old in han', his 'hole body had been garbed. And yelled did he with lungs so full 'Arth thaw crazy man?'" Ruby giggled at the poorly made ancient humour.

"But Arthur did not waste 'is time and raised kingmaker 'bove 'is head. 'Lift yer sword lad less ya lose yer neck.' The blades then met for just a second, but a scene for eternity they left. Caliburne was turned to pieces, rivaling in number the pride of king Arthur who had lost his bet."

Taking a breath Ruby calmed herself down awaiting further questions.

"Very impressive, with that kind of interest to the holy weapons I don't think you'll have any problems regarding them. Two more questions name the organisations responsible for protecting the piece of the world and their respective fields. "

"Ok the most obvious are the hunters, they have the highest level of authority within the three major factions, their responsibilities include, but not limited to:

Hunting the creatures of grim, protecting and escorting exploration camps and a number of civil law enforcement duties should they choose to accept those missions. Next are the dust weavers, who further our technological advances, forge tools for the warriors of Remnant, and maintain political stability. Finally we have the templar knights, whose sole responsibility lies in the preservation of our species, history and culture in the event of disaster. "

"So you have been paying attention, very well final question, explain dust. " This was the subject of today's lecture, in other circumstances she would have asked for definition of semblances bur considering Ruby's infatuation with combat that was probably unnecessary.

"*Groan*. Dust is the manifestation of the soul of the universe within the physical plane, it's naturally occurring in any conceivable location, from the veins beneath the earth to the air we breath, both shade and spectrum dust have clusters which which can and have been harvested for use by the weavers, it's also the reason for as to why they can control the elements in the form of magic. Both spectrum and shade can serve similar roles with shade being preffered for weapons by both hunters and templar, while spectrum is used almost exclusively by weavers. Is that enough?"

"Quite enough for a passing grade at least. " With the information she provided the aged teacher was confident enough to release the young girl from the remaining lectures

"So does that mean I'm free?"

"As a bird miss Rose. I wish you the best of luck on the journey that lies ahead of you. "

"ALRIGHT! If I pack up quickly I might be able to join my sister on the zeppelin. Thank you Mrs Amber. For all you've done for me." It was almost painful for the old teacher to watch someone so young head out into that frightening place they called a world worth saving.

"I remember when you first came into my classroom, so shy and awkward, you were too scared to speak to anyone for a week and your combat capabilities were nothing short of terrable. "

"Yea lucky for me uncle Qrow was there to help me, I never would have gotten to Beacon without him."

"Both your semblance and your attitude were just like your father when I was teaching him, once he got used to talking with people however he became simply unbearable. Accelerating himself to ludicrous speeds just to pull childish pranks and don't get me started on the puns." A deaf chuckle escaped her lips while recalling the memory.

"You only had to deal with one of him at a time, I live with him and my sister. They STILL pull stupid pranks." Ruby herself had a good deal of stories she did not wish to remember.

"Now that's a scary thought, two Taiyangs. If you've managed to survive this long Beacon might as well seem like a vacation in comparison. " She laughed again.

"I know right! Kehehe- I'll miss you missis Amber, I'll miss everyone here."

"We will miss you too miss Rose, but enough sap I thought you had a ship to catch. "

"Oh! Right, gotta go, see ya when I see ya! " And just like that she was gone, all that remained of her presence were a few rose petals that soon dissipated into thin air.

* * *

That should about cover everything you should expect to see in this so you aren't completely confused in the future about the story. Next chapter will probably talk a little more about Jaune and Weiss as well as some other notable figures within the new lore I'm making.

Well see you all next time.


	2. Chapter 2

'I hate flying! I really do. If people were meant to fly we'd all have evolved wings or jetpacks, or parachutes. Anything that could lower falling damage. Instead we have legs. Strong, meaty, muscular, hairy legs. Made for walking, kicking, shaving and ogling. Not gliding, not flying and definitely not made for withstanding falls from grate distances. Humans and faunus were not, most of them at least, made for aerial transportation. I mean who thought it was a great idea to place ourselves in metal cages and strap those cages to massive tanks of hot, and probably highly flammable, gas? A mad man that's who! '

Those were the internal ramblings of one Jaune Arc.

A man who hated flying so much that the mere though of it made him sick.

'Hey dad can we book a private airship so that no one else can hear me discharge my stomach through my mouth? Well sorry son, but apparently the Shnee's booked all of the available ones. Fuck the Shnees! Seriously, who needs three airships to transport one member of the family? A mad man that's who! If I ever get the chance to play the dissing game with the current head the first thing I'm saying is "Your child is so fat it took three airships to bring him or her to Vale!"

As he continued to unload most of last week's food into a trash bin, Jaune was happy to see the island approaching. Then the sight made him sick and liquefied his happiness, which flowed into the bin.

About an hour later and one post landing bathroom brake.

'Oh sweet glorious land, how I've missed thè. Let us never be apart again. '

*BOOM*

A thunderous explosion rocked the ground.

"I take that back, don't eat me! Wait a minute. "

Several feet away he saw a crater with two girls in it. One dressed in white with plenty frills and the other in a red and black gothic lolita outfit. For some reason the white one was trash talking the black one about incompetence or something, then came a cat faunus girl who apparently bitch slapped snowflake with some snarky one liner and left. No wait, he was mistaken, that's a bow on her head not cat ears.

And now the loli is sad and alone. Well not on Jaune's watch. Growing up with seven sisters and with three more being born just three months ago, he had developed a parental instinct. With a sense of confidence of any grown man confronting a small, lost and scared child, he stepped up to her extended his hand and spoke.

"Hey little girl, do you want some candy?"

"Dad… I mean. Oh boy do I! Wait aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

"Aren't you the girl who blew a hole in the ground? "

"Tuchè."

Everything was going great for Jaune ever since he landed. He'd made a friend, bought her candy and was now searching for her parents.

' Who would leave their child on an island full of grim unsupervised? A mad man that's who! '

Maternal instincts working at full capacity he could barely hear what the little child was saying. Most of the time he just replied with 'uh huh', 'really ' and the occasional 'that's adorable' .

"Mister Adorable? "

"I beg your pardon? "

"Are you a hunter? "

"Why yes I am, well not yet technically. I'll be a first year at Beacon starting next week. "

"Me too. So what are you packing? "

She is a first year? Had Jaune made a mistake somewhere and applied for the kid experience? Or was she simply older than she looked? That would explain the last sentence.

"I think I need some context. "

"You don't need concent for me. "

"I'm pretty sure I do."

"Look! "

The loli pulled out a small crystal tipped rod from inside her skirt. Where she kept it Jaune didn't want to know. With a stroke it grew to a length of two meters. A long red blade extended just below the tip.

"This is Crescent Rose. My baby and lifelong partner. "

Oh she ment a weapon. Lifelong partner? This poor girl needed friends. And what man let's a little girl walk around with a scythe? A mad man that's who! Those things were a bad omen. Did she built that herself?

"That's pretty cool, and eery. I don't think I can match it. All I have is this old sword."

The blonde boy reached to handle on his waist. From it he pulled out a long silvery, semi transparent blade.

"That... that's- "

"Pretty vanilla I know. But it's a family tradition to carry it into ba…"

"Crocea Mors! The emperor's fang! This was in my top ten 'legendary weapons I would like to wield ' , right after Durandal, but just before Ascalon! How did you get it? Are you an Arc? Can I touch it? Please, just the tip, just a touch. "

Ok this girl was clearly a little crazy. Probably runs in the family. Oh but she was so adorable. Like the two younger sisters he had. Exept she was drooling a little more than the recently born triplets.

"Ok, but be careful. It's very sharp and heavy. And yes I am an Arc. Didn't I say that already? "

"Less talking, more touching!"

Jaune carefully gave the girl the handle of the blade

and left the tip touch the ground.

"Oh wow, your sword is so heavy and the blade so thick. It's too wide, my hands barely fit around it. The thought of thrusting it in is soo compelling..."

"Uuh... Yea. It's getting pretty late. Do you have a place to stay?"

"Oh no! I completely forgot to make sleeping arrangements. What am I going to do!"

"Calm down, I'll help you. Look there's a tavern over there. Let's get something to eat. My treat. "

"Really mister Adorable? But why are you being so nice to me?"

"Hey, don't worry, we're friends right. Also I'd feel worried about leaving you all alone. "

"I've heard of the Arcs being generous, I never thought I'd see it for myself. "

The duo entered the tavern and Jaune quickly made arrangements for two rooms. Apparently he paid enough money to buy out the place so he and loli could keep eating as much as they wanted.

"I'll have roasted beef and red wine. What will you have miss."

"Um, chicken breast and some strawberry juice. "

"Bring a large salad too while you're at it."

"Right away sir Arc."

When the waiter left, the two continued to converse.

"Do you drink Mister Adorable? "

"It be wierd if I didn't. Wouldn't it? Vacuo's bourbon is my favourite. Do you drink? "

He hoped not. The minimum drinking age was sixteen and she definitely wasn't that old.

"No way! That stuff is disgusting. My uncle once left a bottle of 'Mistral gold' on the table. When I tried that rotten egg smelling saltwater sewage I nearly threw up. That's the first time I swore. Why are you laughing? "

"…kha, oh nothing, nothing, phhhahaha..."

'Mistral gold she said, only those weirdos could call that piss a drink. Either her uncle was a very clever man, or he had a terrible taste in alcohol. '

"Your uncle sounds like a very smart man. "

"He is. Uncle Qrow was the one who taught me how to fight. I never would have been accepted into beacon if It weren't for him. Even if he was mostly drunk most of the time. "

The more the girl, Ruby as he understood what her name was after a few minutes, talked about her family, the more Jaune though it wasn't very stable.

Her uncle was a intelligent drunk with a knack for starting fights, her father was flirtatious deviant, who's first wife divorced him, he then remarried and his second wife passed away, he also had a knack for starting fights. And her sister was a flirty blonde bitch, with a drinking problem and a knack for starting fights.

This poor innocent girl who grew up in that family and somehow the only bad habit she picked up was using too many innuendos and taking candy from strangers. She needed someone nicer, someone more responsible. Maybe he could adopt her into his family of parents that looked like his siblings and had eleven children, and a grandfather that looked like he could pass for his older brother.

"Speaking of my sister, there she is. Hey Yang! Over here. "

'Ah perfect let's get a good look at the one responsible for my future daughter's vocabulary.'

"Oh Ruby you're here. And I see you made a friend, he better be paying for the meal."

"And my room too. "

"Oh Ho, eager aren't we mister…"

"Adorable. " Ruby said.

"He is i'll give him that."

Now Jaune would have spoken, but he was busy ogling.

'What the hell! What is she wearing? That outfit barely covers anything! And aren't they supposed to be sisters? I look more related to her than Ruby does. Hm… so that's why dad married mom. Wait what are they talking about?'

"Hey Arc Adorable, eyes up here. Stop staring at my legs."

"Oh. I apologise. It's not often I get to see someone like you. And someone like you wearing so little. Please sit down and order a drink I've paid for everything for the night. "

"Keep up the compliments. You might just get something in return. "

"I ugh..."

"Ruby was just telling me about your sword. How thick and long it is. If I didn't know her better you'd be eating through a straw right now. "

"Yang! Don't beat up my friends! "

"So tell me more about the first time you used it."

The waiter had brought Yang a glass of whisky along with the bottle and a spare glass.

'I'm completely lost right now. Better just go with the flow and bring up adoption later. '

"Well I first started playing with it when I was four..."

"An early starter I see."

"Quite early. When dad first saw me wield it he was really proud of me. "

"I'll bet he was. First time our dad saw me with a sword in hand he was very pissed. If I was a boy he'd be less angry seeing me 'spar ' with others. "

"Well yea see what you mean."

"So when was the first time you had sex?"

'Wait what? '

"Not in front of Ruby!"

"I should hope so. My darling sister would be soul broken if she saw you having sex with someone. "

"You know damn well what I mean. "

"Yang what's sex?"

"Don't listen to her Ruby! She's a bad influence. "

"Calm your tits vomit boy. Ruby knows damn well where babies come from. We're just jerking your chain. "

"Yang Xiao Long, you will cease this conversation immediately! "

"Yes daddy! "

Even though the tavern was bustling with sound, the trio's table fell into a deadly silence.

"I beg your pardon? "

"You heard nothing! "

"Why did you call me..."

"I didn't! You miss herd me, no, you imagined it. The liquor had poison in it and caused you to become delirious! "

"Sis, you're scaring me."

"Let's all just forget everything happened. Ok? Ok!"

The awkwardness continued for another hour or so, but once the blondes became sufficiently drunk everyone became cheery again.

"You know Jaune I was wrong about you."

"Yea, I was wrong about you as well. "

"You two seem to be getting along. *YAWN* It's getting late however and I think I should get to bed."

It was past Ruby's bed time and it showed.

"Aw come on Ruby. You're a high schooler now. You need to get used to things like this. Plus, if I can get Arc-dorable over here drunk enough he's going to play 'drunken pirate' on the piano. "

"Why do you keep calling me that? My name is Jaune. "

"No it isn't. It's either vomit boy or Arc-dorable. "

"I mess up two things and get stuck with the dumbest names ever. "

"That's about the way it goes. But you're a fun guy. I can totally leave Ruby in your hands. "

"Eh, you really mean that. "

"Sure I do. Would you like that Ruby?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

"Great! I'll have the adoption papers ready by tomorrow.

"Wait, what's this about adoption now?"


End file.
